Family credits their rescue dog with saving kids from possible kidnapping

CHAMBERSBURG, Penn. (FOX 13/FOX 43) - A couple in Pennsylvania is breathing a sigh of relief and crediting the family dog with saving their three kids from a possible kidnapping.

Thom Lambert told FOX 43 that the scary incident occurred in late March. His daughters, ages 3, 6 and 8, were sound asleep in their beds. During the night, Edgar, their 4-year-old rescue dog, started acting very strangely.

Lambert said the dog was on edge – barking, growing and unable to calm down. It wasn’t until he got the dog to stop barking that he heard footsteps and realized someone was inside their home. Lambert said he immediately called 911. However, police were unable to find the intruder. 

“The police came in,” he recalled. “They’re going through each room. They got guns drawn. They’re looking everywhere.”

A few days after the incident at the Lamberts’ home, police arrested 20-year-old Thomas Dewald. Dewald was accused of abducting 4-year-old girl and hiding her in a wooden box under his bed. The girl escaped while he was at work.

Police said after the girl ran off, Dewald went on the prowl searching for another child to kidnap. Officials believe Dewald is the same man who broke into Lambert’s house, but say he was scared off by Edgar.

Officials said Dewald confessed to kidnapping the 4-year-old who escaped, and scoped out other homes after she got away. 

“He said that he had been in the house and then our hearts really dropped," said Lambert.

According to Lambert, police told him Dewald entering through the downstairs kitchen window and walked upstairs before hearing Edgar’s barks.

“Without Edgar, genuinely who knows?” Lambert said. “Who knows where our daughters would be right now.”

He told FOX 43 that he hopes more people would consider rescuing a dog, because you never know if they may save you or your loved ones.